


Hanging On The Wire

by franksbestfriend22



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Domestic af, Fluff, Lots of Kastle, also you're welcome Kastle fans, amy goes to private school, can't get enough Amy/Frank, daddy issues? who me? absolutely, father/daughter goodness, getting back to normal life, mostly canon, oh man i turned it into a multi chapter fic, set post punisher s2 obviously, what a cute lil family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-10-27 00:38:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17756462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/franksbestfriend22/pseuds/franksbestfriend22
Summary: Amy Bendix is back in New York and she's staying with The Punisher and his girlfriend. And she's going to the most prestigious high school in NYC. And things only get weirder from there.Or: Amy, Frank, and Karen build a life together.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! I couldn't resist writing a longer Amy/Frank fic after my first 2 short ones. You'll notice the first chapter is one of those fics (You Do Something To Me) and then it'll go from there. I hope you enjoy! Also I've always imagined Amy to be 16, so she's going to be a sophomore in high school.

Amy makes it 6 months in Florida, but to Frank, it feels like a lifetime. She calls him every single day, sending pictures of the beach and underwater shots from her dives too. He likes it the best when she sends silly selfies and he goes as far as to frame his favorite -- a snapshot of her holding an ice cream cone and smiling so big it makes him smile too every time he looks at it. It sits on the bookshelf in the new apartment in Williamsburg and he taps it lightly with his knuckles whenever he passes it. 

He misses her like hell and Karen knows it too. She sees the way that Frank snatches up his phone every time it rings and how his furrowed brow only relaxes after Amy’s answer to the “you okay?” he always asks before they even say hello. Karen feels that she’s intruding on these calls and makes a point of slipping out of the room, or taking Max on a walk so that Frank can pace their little apartment in peace. He always fills her in later and it makes her happy to hear how much these two care about each other.

One day, she comes back a little earlier than anticipated because it starts snowing and she hovers in the doorway, listening. Frank sounds relaxed and he laughs, a real laugh, at something Amy says. Karen’s heart clenches for a moment and she bites her lips, trying not to cry at the tenderness in his voice. 

“Alright, kid, love you too.” 

Karen waits until she hears Frank set his phone down before unclipping Max’s leash and closing the front door behind her. 

“We’re back!” She announces, following Max into the living room. Frank smiles at her and pulls her into his arms, burying his nose in her hair. 

“Amy’s coming back.” He whispers and Karen takes a step back.

“What? Is she okay?”

“Yeah. Says she misses New York and that she’s done with the beach.” Frank grins. “She wants to enroll at that fancy-ass school and study theater.”

Karen laughs and presses a kiss to Frank’s nose. 

“And I’m guessing you’re going to pay for it?” She teases and Frank nods, his face serious.

“I’d give that kid the world if I could.”

“I know it.” Karen says softly. “Is she going to stay with us?”

“If that’s okay.” Frank takes one of her hands. “I know we’re just kinda… well… still figuring shit out between us, but,”

“Frank.” Karen says firmly. “Of course Amy can come stay. I mean, she’s the one who’s kind of responsible for this.” She gestures between the two of them and around the apartment and they both smile, remembering how Amy had texted Karen to come to the bus station right at the time that her bus was departing. She’d watched from the window as Karen ran up to Frank, golden hair flying in the wind and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him hard. Amy had choked out a half-laugh, half-sob when she saw Frank slowly raise his hands to Karen’s face and finally, finally kiss her back.

“She can stay as long as she wants.” Karen continues. Frank smiles big and kisses her slow and deep as Max dances around their feet. 

\---

Frank is hardly able to keep still as he watches for the bus from Jacksonville, his trigger finger tapping against his thigh. He takes a final pull from the paper coffee cup in his hand and lobs it into the trashcan, checking his watch. _Two minutes late_ , he thinks, and pushes down the thoughts that immediately rush to the surface of an accident, a shooting, a fire. He does the breathing exercises that Curt taught him, which at first he wrote off as bullshit, but that have actually helped him more than he’d care to admit. 

Just as he’s about to give into his anxiety and call Amy, the bus swings around the corner and parks at the terminal. Frank stands up and adjusts the baseball cap on his head, eyes fixed on the bus door, which opens far too slowly for his liking. 

Amy is the first one off the bus and she doesn’t stop to collect her luggage, just pushes open the glass doors to the terminal and makes a beeline right for Frank. She jumps, literally jumps, into his arms and he wraps his arms around her, holding her close for a moment before setting her down. Her hair is streaked blonde from the sun and her nose is covered in freckles, but it’s his same Amy all right. Same wicked smile, same big brown eyes. 

“Hi.” She says and smiles just as big as in the picture with the ice cream cone. 

“Hey.” Frank twists his mouth to stop himself from grinning like an idiot, but mostly fails. Amy takes his hand and pulls him back out into the cold towards the bus, where the long-suffering driver is pulling luggage out of the storage space. She’s talking a mile a minute about the bus ride, how some guy tried to sell her weed, how she’s already ordered a uniform for the fancy school, how Frank needs to pay her tuition, like, _tomorrow_ , how all she wants is to eat a burger and take a shower and Frank soaks it all in. 

Later, he’s sitting on the couch with his feet up on the coffee table and Amy’s favorite movie (SpiderMan 3 of all things) playing on the TV. The girl in question is curled up into his left side, her wet hair leaving a stain on his t-shirt and Max is lying in the crook of her knees. Karen comes in from the kitchen carrying two mugs of tea and smiles when she sees the scene in front of her, sitting down on Frank’s other side and leaning her head on his shoulder. 

Frank is barely breathing, afraid to wake Amy up with any movement and he can’t stop staring at her, at the way her eyelashes rest on her cheekbones, how her hand has curled around a handful of his t-shirt. _Kid, you do something to me,_ he whispers. Karen hears him and kisses his shoulder and Frank can’t believe, just can’t fucking believe that he gets to exist here, in this moment, with his girls and his dog, watching a terrible movie.


	2. Chapter Two

It’s Amy’s first day of school and she is forking _nervous._ She stands in front of the mirror in the guest room -- _her room_ , she mentally corrects herself -- and fidgets with the plaid skirt and white button down uniform. She smiles a little sadly remembering the last time she wore this exact outfit and shakes her head to clear away the unpleasant memories.

“That was then, this is now.” She says to her reflection. Amy-in-the-mirror nods and sets her jaw. 

“Kid?” Frank knocks lightly on the door and pushes it open. Amy turns away from herself and holds her arms out in a “ta-da” gesture. 

“How do I look?” She tries to make a joke of it, but there’s a slight tremble in her voice that gives her away.

“You look great.” Frank leans against the doorframe and crosses his arms. “You gonna play nice with the other kids?”

“Yes.” Amy rolls her eyes and Frank cracks a smile. 

“C’mon, I’m drivin’ ya.”

In the car (a massive black Ford pickup that Amy figures is the closest thing to the Battle Van that Frank can drive without arousing suspicion), Amy plugs in her phone to the aux cord and scrolls through her Spotify to find the perfect song. She taps on “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child, cranks up the volume, and the opening notes blare through the speakers.

“Jesus, kid, turn that down!” Frank reaches for the dial, but Amy bats his hand away.

“Destiny’s Child should always be played at top volume!” She half-shouts above the noise and Frank groans, but he doesn’t try to turn the music down again until they pull up across the street from the impressive school building. He clicks off the sound and a heavy silence falls on the two of them as Amy looks out the window and bites her lip, her eyes suddenly filling with tears.

“Hey.” Frank touches her shoulder, but Amy refuses to look at him. “Sweetheart, look at me.” 

Amy slowly turns her head and sniffs, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “It’s nothing.”

“You’re nervous.” Frank nods. “I get it. Normal life is scary. But I know you.” He reaches out and taps the place above her heart with a finger. “I know every part of you. Huh? Don’t I?” Amy nods and takes a deep breath.

“And if I tell you that you can do this, you believe me, right?” Frank’s eyes are soft, but he’s staring at Amy intensely. 

“Yes?” She says in a small voice, then repeats herself, louder. “Yes.”

“Good girl.” Frank leans across the seat and kisses the side of her head gruffly. “Get in there.”

Amy rolls her shoulders back and opens the heavy car door, slinging her backpack over one shoulder. 

“I’ll see you at 3.” Frank calls and she nods before slamming the door shut and crossing the street. She tentatively approaches the group of girls that is starting to gather outside the school’s huge front doors, planting a smile on her face. _Fake it til you make it_ , she thinks. She picks out a sweet looking blond girl who’s sitting on the steps reviewing what looks like homework and approaches her.

“Hey, uh, I’m Amy.” 

The girl looks up from the papers in her lap and smiles.

“Hi Amy, I’m Kate. Are you new?” 

“Yep.” Amy pops the ‘p’ and decides it’s safe to plop down next to Kate on the steps. “Kinda weird to be starting at a new school in the middle of the year.” 

“I hear ya.” Kate puts her homework into her backpack and zips it up. “My dad was in the Army so we moved like every single year when I was younger.”

Amy mentally fist-pumps and congratulates herself on choosing an ideal person to talk to first. 

“How long have you been at Brearley?” She asks, drawing her coat a little tighter around herself as a gust of wind blows past. 

“Since freshman year.” Kate says with false-enthusiasm. “A year and a half too long.”

“Oh no.” Amy laughs. “Is it that bad?”

“No, it’s not.” Kate admits. “Just some of the girls can be a little stuck up and uh…”

“B-word-y?” Amy supplies. 

“Exactly.” Kate grins. “You know, I think we’re going to get along just fine, Amy.”

“I think so too, Kate.” 

A bell rings from deep inside the school and Kate stands up, offering a hand to pull Amy up as well. 

“C’mon, I’ll show you where homeroom is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos give me life!


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haha I can never let anyone have anything nice for too long!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't. Stop. Writing. One more thing I forgot to mention: since the end of S2 was so ambiguous about where Frank stands in society (lol), I've decided to drop the whole Pete Castiglione pretext altogether and Frank is just Frank Castle and the world has kind of just gotten over the whole Punisher thing. Ok, happy reading!

Frank watches Amy walk away from the van, curls escaping from the pile of hair on top of her head and he feels his heart clench. He knows she’s a tough kid, but he also knows that she’s scared. And quite frankly, he thinks, he doesn’t blame her. He watches her approach the intimidating group of well-dressed teenage girls and grips the steering wheel tightly, his index finger tapping out a staccato on the plastic.

“Atta girl.” He whispers to himself, relaxing slightly when he sees Amy strike up a conversation with a girl on the steps. He puts the truck in gear and checks the time and curses, flipping open his phone (yes, he still uses a burner, it’s probably a habit he’ll never kick) and dialing Karen.

“Hey, I gotta go right to my first client. Can you take Max out before you leave?” He asks when she answers. 

“Mhm.” He can tell that she’s got a mouthful of cereal, probably Annie’s Cocoa Bunnies or whatever the name of that chocolately-organic shit she always buys is (he knows exactly what it’s called because he picks it up every time he’s at the store, even when there’s a perfectly full box already in the cabinet because he doesn’t want her to ever run out of what she likes). 

“Thanks. Uh, have a good day at work, okay?” 

Karen mumbles a garbled “thank you” and Frank hangs up, pressing a little harder on the gas pedal as he heads back towards the highway. He pulls up in front of the non-descript boxing gym in Brooklyn where he’s started training private clients when he doesn’t feel like working construction and gets out, picking up his black duffel bag from the backseat. 

His first client is his favorite, a girl named Ellie in her early twenties that has always reminded him of Amy because she’s tough as nails and has a sense of humor just as devious. They’ve been training together three times a week at 8:30 am for five months and outside of Karen, Curt, and David, she’s the person Frank spends the most time with. 

She chatters through her warmup, something about a botched date she went on the night before and Frank wraps her hands carefully as he always does, double-checking that her left thumb is secured extra-tight because it has a tendency to dislocate from an old injury that it makes Frank sick to think about. Ellie’s been through some shit and he’s confident that’s why they get along so well.

“You look happier than usual today.” Ellie comments as Frank slips on his training mitts.

“Yeah?” He grunts, trying not to smile.

“Yeah.” She narrows her blue eyes at him and he can’t help chuckling. “What’s going on?”

“Amy’s back.” Frank says simply, motioning for her to take her stance and she does, her mouth falling open.

“ _Amy,_ Amy?” 

“Mhm.” Ellie snaps out her first jab.

“That’s so exciting! Can I meet her?”

“Don’t see why not.” Frank pivots and Ellie follows, her punches landing dead center on his mitts. Frank feels a little surge of pride. The hour passes quickly as it always does and Ellie’s packing up when Frank surprises himself by saying, “How about you come over for dinner this weekend? Meet Amy and all.” 

Ellie turns around, clearly surprised as well. She stares at Frank for a minute, almost like she’s sizing him up before she smiles and nods. 

“I’ll text you the details.” Frank reaches out for their customary end-of-session fist bump and Ellie heads out, humming a little under her breath. Frank watches her leave and tries not to think about the fact that he knows she’s heading back to an empty apartment in the worst neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen and will spend the night serving drinks at a strip club to make money for the classes she’s taking at NYU. He’s never charged Ellie a cent for their sessions and can’t imagine he ever will, even when she inevitably becomes the manager of a swanky hotel downtown like she’s planning. 

Frank checks the time and sees that he’s got 20 minutes before his next client. He toys with his phone, snapping it open and closed, debating if he should text Amy to see how it’s going, a little knot of anxiety in his chest. _Jesus Christ,_ he thinks. _Two days back and she’s got me wrapped completely around her finger._ He knew it was inevitable, though. Even the days back in the trailer when he was trying so hard to convince himself he didn’t care about her, didn’t need her around to remind himself that he was in fact a real human man capable of emotion, not just a machine built to kill, he knew. And so she’d wormed her way into his heart, where she sat right next to Karen, both them driving him crazy and making him happier than he thought he’d ever be again. 

Frank finds himself smiling thinking about the two of them, but his phone vibrates and the message he reads makes the smile slip right off his face. 

_David L: got a ping about something you’ll be interested in. call me._


	4. Chapter Four

“So what do I need to know about this place?” Amy asks as she and Kate climb the steps to the front door. Kate waves and smiles at a few girls as they pass and Amy keeps a friendly look on her face as well. The girls look at her curiously and she makes a note of their faces to find them later and introduce herself. 

“Well, it’s a little intense.” Kate admits, speaking up a bit to be heard over the echoing chatter as the students all start to enter the main hall. Amy whistles under her breath as she looks around. Everything is marble and stone, huge black chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and sandy-colored lockers lining the walls. “We’re all expected to do really well because they want us to get into the best colleges. It makes the school look better.” 

“That makes sense.” Amy unlocks her phone and checks the email she was sent the day before with her first day of school schedule and locker assignment number. “Hey, do you know where locker number 88 is?”

“Right next to mine!” Kate claps her hands. “What’s your last name?”

“Bendix.” Amy says slowly, realizing it’s one of the few times that she’s given the real answer on the first ask. 

“Mine’s Bender, so that makes sense. They’re right over here.” Kate guides Amy a bit further down the hallway and stops them in front of lockers 87 and 88. Amy lifts the lock on hers and is pleasantly surprised to see there’s books and a folder already inside that has a map and packet of other general information about the school. Kate is busy loading books into her backpack from her locker and Amy copies her, scanning her schedule for the day to make sure she has all the right ones.

“Anyway,” Kate picks up the conversation again as they stroll towards their homeroom classroom. “It’s really not bad. Just lots of homework, but everyone’s pretty nice and we can go off campus for lunch. I’ll take you to our favorite pizza place today.”

“Thanks.” Amy smiles, feeling a flush of warmth creep over her body. _I have a friend,_ she thinks. 

After the brief homeroom period when she chats with the teacher who is to be her “assigned mentor,” whatever the heck that means, Amy parts ways with Kate and navigates the corridors to her Pre-Calculus class. 

She chooses a seat in the back and does her best to pay attention, but spends most of the class absentmindedly doodling in one of her new notebooks. One thing that Amy had forgotten about school -- it can be as boring as H-E-double-hockey-sticks. Especially when the teacher is a 400 year old guy droning on about numbers and boxes and parentheses. She looks down at the end of the period and is surprised to see that she’s sketched tiny Punisher skulls and guns all over the margins of her notes. She frowns and rips out the piece of paper, crumpling it up in her hand and shoving it deep into her backpack. _That was then, this is now,_ she reminds herself again. 

“Not a fan of derivatives?” Amy looks up and is surprised to see an older-looking brunette girl standing next to her desk, chewing gum and grinning. 

“Yeah, not so much.” Amy leans back in her seat and offers the girl a smile. “I’m Amy.”

“I heard.” The girl sticks out her hand and Amy shakes it. “Grace.”

“You heard?” Amy gets out of her seat as the bell rings again and Grace follows her out of the classroom.

“Word travels fast around here.” Grace shrugs and flicks her ponytail over her shoulder. “So where are you from?”

“Uh, Florida.” Amy says distractedly, studying the confusing map of the school to try and figure out where her next class is. 

“Where do you need to go?” Grace snatches the map from her and halts, ignoring the annoyed looks from girls who have to weave around her and Amy in the crowded hallway. 

“The art room?”

“Oh, same here. It’s the other way.” Grace takes Amy’s elbow and turns them around and they start walking. Amy’s not sure why, but she feels a little uneasy around Grace. She tries to push the feeling away, reminding herself that not everything is a threat these days and it’s probably just general first day of school nerves. 

“Oh, thanks.” She says brightly. “Are you a sophomore?”

“Nope, a senior.” Grace keeps looking straight ahead, navigating the two of them between bodies and around corners. “So Florida, huh? Why’d you come to New York?”

“Change of scenery.” Amy says lightly, shifting her elbow slightly so it slips out of Grace’s grasp.

“You have family here?” Grace asks, just as they stop in front of a door labeled “ART.”

Amy nods.

“Mm, well, you should be careful while you’re here.” Grace says, her hand resting on the handle of the door and her eyes fixed on Amy. Her tone is light, but Amy senses something lurking underneath the surface.

“Why?” Amy’s heartbeat picks up and her body tenses, ready to run if she has to.

“New York can be a scaaaaary place!” Grace laughs, a tinkling little giggle, and opens the door. Amy swallows hard and follows her into the room, forcing herself to laugh as well.


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hi, new chapter for you! Some nice Karen/Amy interaction... also you guys are so lucky that I didn't create an OFC for Frank's love interest because I TRULY hate Karen, but want to make you Kastle fans happy. That's how much I love my readers!!! Ok enjoy xx

“Bye Amy, see you tomorrow!” Kate waves enthusiastically as she gets into the backseat of a Lincoln town-car and Amy waves back half-heartedly, scanning the street for Frank’s truck. Her heart picks up the pace when she doesn’t see it and she tries to control her breathing.

“Amy, over here!” Amy frowns, but relaxes as she sees Karen’s arm sticking out of a blue Prius a few cars down and walks over.

“Where’s Frank?” She asks immediately and Karen gives her a tight smile.

“With David. Come on, get in, I’m double parked.” 

Amy sighs and opens the passenger side door, getting in and jamming her backpack down by her knees. Karen puts the car in gear and they drive away down the tree-lined street. Karen has some awful pop station playing on the radio and Amy turns it down, ignoring the slight side-eye she gets. They ride in silence for a few moments before Amy finally says, “So what’s your _deal,_ Karen?”

“My deal?” Karen huffs out a laugh.

“Yeah.” Amy crosses her arms and swivels her body in the seat so that she’s facing Karen’s profile. “Just trying to get to know you.” 

Truth be told, she’s pretty wary of Karen. From what she’s gathered from Frank and the Internet, the woman seems to be a walking shit-magnet and as far as Amy’s concerned, Frank’s pretty much got that covered on his own. 

“Mhm.” Karen says, not fooled. “Well, I guess my deal is that Frank and I are together, which might I remind you, is your doing.”

Amy nods. After walking in on them in the hospital and seeing how anguished Frank looked as he was talking to her, she just couldn’t resist trying to set them up as she was leaving. She’s happy that it worked because Frank seems happy, but still feels it’s her responsibility to dig a little deeper.

“Yeah, I know. That’s why I feel like you and I should… bond or something.” Amy shrugs. 

“Well, what do you want to know?” Karen flicks on the blinker and turns right. Her jaw is set, but her eyes are soft when she glances over at Amy. 

“How did you and Frank first meet?” Amy is genuinely curious because this elegant woman with her gingersnap colored hair and perfectly applied mascara doesn’t quite seem like the type that Frank would meet on one of his…. adventures.

“Now that’s a long story.” Karen laughs.

“As far as I can tell, we’ve got nothin’ but time.” Amy leans back in her seat. 

Karen obliges and as they drive through the quiet streets of the Upper East Side, she walks Amy through the whole thing -- being a receptionist at Nelson & Murdock, the multiple attempts on her life, Wilson Fisk, and how she ended up being Frank’s biggest advocate in court. This is the part that intrigues Amy the most, of course, and she watches Karen’s face carefully as she listens. Her heart is warmed a bit when she sees how Karen smiles a little every time she says Frank’s name and absentmindedly plays with the necklace around her neck, which Amy assumes was a gift.

“We feel the same way about him, I think.” Amy interrupts as Karen is telling a (rather long-winded) story about some conversation that she and Frank had down by the water one night.

“What?” Karen looks alarmed.

“Ew, gross, not in that way!” Amy shrieks. “I just mean that we see Frank the same way. We understand him in the same way.”

Karen nods slowly and pulls the car to the curb. Amy looks out the window and sees that they’ve stopped in front of a bakery. Karen turns off the engine, unbuckles her seatbelt, and turns in her seat as well, so that she and Amy are facing each other.

“You’re right.” She says bluntly. “We do. And I know the two of you have been through hell and back together and I respect that. I won’t pretend to fully understand the bond between you two and I have no interest in getting in the way. Can you say the same for me?”

Amy is taken aback by the honesty, but it makes her respect Karen all the more and she grins.

“Yeah, I can.” She says softly. “I know he loves you.”

“He loves you too.” Karen reaches out and tucks a curl behind Amy’s ear in an unexpectedly sweet gesture, and Amy unconsciously leans her head into her touch. 

“I know.” Amy whispers. “Sometimes it scares me.”

“I understand that as well.” Karen says. “It’s scary to love someone who’s already lost so much. But all three of us have that in common, really.”

“Oh yeah?” Amy looks inquisitively at Karen.

“Yeah. But that’s a story for another time.” Karen says lightly. “Come on, let’s go get a chocolate croissant. I bet it’ll be the best you’ve ever tasted.”


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. It happened. We got canceled. Knew it was coming, but it doesn't hurt any less. Going to miss this show like crazy, but I hope that we all keep it alive through fics like this!! Hope you enjoy the new chapter, we'll get some good Frank/Amy interaction next chapter I promise xx

Karen hands Amy a twenty and says she’ll find them a table, telling her to order two of the pain au chocolat, a coffee for her, and whatever Amy wants to drink. She navigates her way through the crowded bakery and manages to snag the one remaining table in the corner. It’s a tight squeeze, but the bakery is pleasantly warm and the bustling noise is strangely comforting. 

Karen sits and watches Amy order, smiling at the way that she flirts with the guy at the cash register and manages to negotiate a free hot chocolate out of the poor stammering and blushing boy. She’s a funny kid -- always tries to act much older than she is, but betrays herself in moments of vulnerability like the one in the car when Karen touched her hair. Karen gets the sense that Amy grew up way too fast and sometimes struggles to catch up with herself. 

Amy walks over, precariously balancing the two paper cups of liquid and plate of buttery pastries oozing warm chocolate. She places the coffee in front of Karen and Karen’s touched to see that she’s added just the right amount of cream and what looks like two sugars. 

“I’ve seen how you make it at home.” Amy shrugs, biting into one of the croissants. “Ohh m’god.” She says with her mouth full, closing her eyes.

“I know, right?” Karen laughs and takes a sip of her coffee. “Frank had the same reaction.”

Amy launches into a full recount of her first day at school and Karen nods along, half-listening. She studies the way that Amy is in perpetual motion, playing with strands of her hair, tapping her fingers on the table, gnawing on a fingernail and is immediately reminded of Frank and that nervous trigger finger. 

She’s noticed that the two seem to have a unique gravitational pull towards each other. Frank unconsciously moves his body between Amy and anything that could be perceived as a threat -- a car, a person, even a glass window -- and Amy has a habit of curling her fingertips into whatever bit of Frank is in reach. She tugs at the hems of his t-shirts, hangs on lightly to the cuffs of his jacket and Frank barely seems to tell, as if she’s an extension of him. Karen aches to think that Lisa may have done this at some point; it certainly hasn’t escaped her that the two girls would be about the same age. 

Her mind flashes to the call she got from Frank right before she went to pick Amy up and she feels a knot of anxiety tighten in her chest. He wouldn’t tell her much, just that he needed to go see David and he’d be home by dinner, but Karen knows that anything involving a text from David usually isn’t good news. She sighs, wondering what it could be this time. It’s been a few months since Frank donned the Punisher vest and she’d been hoping that the last time was it for good. _Wishful thinking,_ she ruminates.

“Karen? Kaaaaaaren?” Amy is waving a hand in front of her face and Karen blinks. 

“Sorry, zoned out for a second. Are you ready to go?” She looks down at their empty plates and cups. “I think Frank should be home by now.”

“Yeah, let’s hit it.” Amy stands up and brushes crumbs off her plaid skirt.

“Hit it?” Karen can’t help but smirk.

“Oh, shut up.” Amy says lightly, bumping her shoulder and they walk out of the café, side by side.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here you go, the Amy/Frank fluff that we all deserve. Enjoy! Kudos & comments give me life xx

Frank’s last client is still packing up when he dials David’s number and presses the phone to his ear, growling “what happened” when the man on the other end answers. 

“Wow, nice to talk to you too, Frankie boy!” David says in that chipper voice of his and Frank shakes his head. 

“What happened?” He repeats, his tone even more agitated. David sighs, but launches into his report.

“Well, don’t freak out or anything, okay? I’m not sure it means anything. But there’s been a lot of movement on the West side of the city. Different organizations talking to each other, lots of encrypted messages flying back and forth on some of the old feeds that I still check whenever I’m bored at work. Which is actually a lot, turns out private data security is boring as fu--”

“Lieberman.” Frank growls, running a hand down his face. “Focus. You’ve been able to un-encrypt those messages, right?”

“First of all, un-encrypt isn’t a word. And secondly, no I haven’t.” David admits. “Their tech is pretty advanced this time around. I’m still working on it.”

“Well work harder.” Frank starts to pace the length of the gym, eyes darting back and forth. “What can you tell me?”

“From what I can gather -- and I really need you to not freak out here -- there’s some kind of alliance forming. Maybe something to do with the power vacuum that was created when Daredevil killed Fisk. I don’t know. I’m speculating mostly.”

Frank grunts and taps his finger on his thigh, hard. “That all you got?”

“For now.” David says. “I’m going to give this more attention now that I know something’s up. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Yeah, I’ll look into it too.” 

Frank is about to hang up when David says, “So I heard Amy’s back in town?”

“How’d you hear that?” Frank is instantly on alert, his mind running through all the dangerous people who might have caught wind of the kid’s return.

“Uh, Karen?” David says, confused. 

“Oh, right.” Frank exhales. “Jesus Christ, I gotta relax.”

“Take a bath. Epsom Salts help.” David chirps.

“Yeah, yeah.” Frank rolls his eyes. “You hear anything, and I mean anything, you call me, huh, Lieberman? You got that? Anything and--”

“I call you, yeah I get it Frank. I’ll talk to you later okay? And why don’t we plan a dinner or something? I’d like to meet Amy.”

“Kid’s still getting settled. Soon though, yeah?” Frank punches the “end call” button on his phone and drops the phone into his pocket, cracking his knuckles. He takes a deep breath and rolls his shoulders back, trying to settle his mind. 

An hour later, Frank is sitting at the kitchen table, tapping away at the ancient laptop Karen teases him about and absentmindedly petting Max with his sock-clad foot. His brow is furrowed and he squints at the article displayed on the dull screen, lips moving soundlessly as he reads. 

_Three dead in warehouse explosion in Hudson Yards. Crates of guns found and confiscated by NYPD. Lieutenant Brett Mahoney released a statement saying that foul play is suspected and that NYPD is launching a full scale investigation._

“Yeah, but what aren’t you saying, huh Brett?” Frank says out loud, leaning back and cracking his knuckles. Max sits up and cocks his head. “Not you.” 

Just as Frank is about to click on a few more links, he hears Karen’s keys in the front door and snaps the computer shut, tucking it away on the bookshelf. He stares at the framed photo of Amy for a moment, thinking about how he’d tear this whole city apart to keep her safe. He turns at the sound of footsteps and half-smiles when he sees the girl in the picture coming towards him, a bit of chocolate smeared on her mouth.

“Hey kid.” He grunts, accepting her hug and wiping his thumb across her lower lip when she pulls away to remove the last of what he assumes was a croissant from Mae’s Bakery. Damm that place is good.

“Hi!” Amy twirls away from him and drops onto her knees to pet Max who is wagging his tail so hard that his whole body shakes. 

“Good first day?” Frank asks, reaching out and scooping Karen into his side as she walks past. She laughs softly and he kisses her, tasting chocolate and coffee.

“Mhm. I made a friend.” Amy looks up at Frank and Jesus Christ, there’s that smile again.

“That’s good, kid.” Frank says gruffly, releasing Karen’s waist to stir the tomato sauce bubbling away on the stove. “Dinner’s almost ready.” 

“Smells good.” Karen deposits her impossibly enormous work bag on the couch and kicks off her high heels with a sigh. “That case that Jessica and I are working on is turning out to be a real pain in the ass. Not to mention she managed to get herself arrested last night.”

“Yeah, I knew you going into business with that woman was gonna cause some trouble.” Frank dishes up spaghetti and sauce onto three plates and drops one in front of Amy, who digs in immediately. “Hey! Wait til everyone is served.” Frank admonishes. 

“This coming from the man who _literally_ used to stab open cans of beans with a knife and then eat them off. The. Knife?” Amy retorts and Frank can’t help but bark out a laugh.

“Doesn’t mean we can’t have table manners these days.” Karen whisks past Frank and sits down at her spot, pouring herself a glass of wine from the bottle on the table. “It’s called character development, Amy.” 

Now it’s Amy’s turn to laugh and Frank gets a warm feeling in his stomach that has nothing to do with the first bite of dinner. 

\---

Frank’s eyes shoot open in the dark and he finds that he’s panting, sweat trickling down his forehead onto his neck. _Breathe, breathe_ , he reminds himself.

“Frank?” Karen mumbles sleepily, shifting next to him so she can turn her head and look at him.

“It’s nothing.” The words stick in Frank’s throat and he coughs. “Go back to sleep sweetheart.” He rolls onto his side and starts to trace patterns on her bare back, knowing that it’ll put her back to sleep in seconds. Sure enough, Karen’s breathing evens out and soon she’s gently snoring, a sure sign that she’s deeply asleep.

Frank sits up carefully, trying not to disturb Karen and holds his head in his hands. He tries to block out the images that were flashing through his mind in his sleep, but they keep coming. _Flames licking up the sides of a building, Amy and Karen’s anguished screams from within, but he can’t move he’s stuck, he’s stuck…_

“Fuck!” Frank hisses, swinging his legs out of bed and pulling on his sweatpants and t-shirt. He closes the bedroom door softly behind him and pads out into the living room where he’s surprised to find Amy curled up on the couch with Max next to her.

“Hey, kid, why are you --” Amy turns her face and Frank’s heart drops when he sees that it’s glazed with tears. “You ok?”

Amy only sobs in response and Frank lowers himself onto the couch next to her and she leans into him, her wet cheek pressing against his chest. He wraps an arm around her and cradles her head against him.

“Hey shhh, shhh, you’re alright.” He clenches his jaw and lets her cry for a few more minutes, her ragged sobs starting to slow and fade. 

“I’m sorry.” Amy whispers as she sits up, scrubbing her hands over her face. “I thought the dreams would disappear when I came back, but --”

“They didn’t.” Frank finishes her sentence for her and she nods. “They might not ever go away, kid.” He says gently. “I still get them.”

“You do?” 

“Yeah. Woke up from one just now.” 

They sit in silence for a moment before Amy asks in a small voice, “Frank?”

“Yeah, kid?”

“Do you really love me?” Amy’s voice is barely audible and she can’t meet Frank’s gaze, instead focusing on rubbing Max’s ears.

Frank is taken aback. “Why would you ask me that?”

Amy blushes a dark red and tears start to fall from her eyes again, but she steadfastly ignores them, keeping her eyes down.

“Whoa, hey, hey, that’s not what I meant. Kid, Amy, look at me.” Frank reaches out and tips Amy’s chin up with his knuckles. “Of course I love you.” He says firmly, determined not to let his voice crack. He starts to talk, eyes roving around the room and a muscle in his jaw jumping.

“You know what I was thinking earlier today? Huh? I was thinking to myself that if anyone ever tries to take you away from me or hurt you again, it doesn’t matter who they are, I’m gonna rip ‘em apart. Limb from limb, yeah? Kid, there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. You gotta understand that. Huh? You know that?” Frank realizes his voice has gotten a little loud and he lowers it again, taking a deep breath and looking back at Amy. She’s gazing at him, her eyes bright, sniffing hard. 

“Yeah I know that.” She whispers and then wraps her skinny arms around him as tight as they’ll go. Frank is worried he’s going to crush her with how close he’s holding her, but Amy seems to want to feel their hearts beating as one and matches her breathing to his, their inhales and exhales rising and falling together.

“I love you too, nerd.” She says after a moment and Frank chuckles, kissing her head and releasing her from his grip. 

“Come on, I’ll make you some hot chocolate and then you’re going back to bed. You’ve got school tomorrow, remember?”

“God, being a normal kid is boring.” Amy says dramatically, but Frank sees the smile on her face and knows that this is where she wants to be. And knowing that the kid’s happy is all he really needs, so when he crawls back into bed with Karen and falls asleep, his dreams are quiet and peaceful.


End file.
